Trump has no plans to meet Iranian Prez Rouhani at UNGA

ANI23 Sep 2019, 11:55 GMT+10

Washington D.C. [USA], Sep 23 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said that he has no plans to meet Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

Previously, the White House had hinted that the US President might meet his Iranian counterpart during the General Assembly amid escalating tensions between the two countries, Sputnik reported.

The Iranian mission previously stated that Rouhani was not expected to hold a meeting with Trump, responding to media reports about possible negotiations during the session.

US administration officials repeatedly said that the presidents might meet in order to ease tensions, claiming that Washington is ready for talks about a new nuclear deal without any preconditions. Tehran, however, said that after the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord, the US cannot be trusted and has refused to negotiate another agreement.

Trump announced the US pullout from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, and subsequently re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Ties between Washington and Tehran have further deteriorated after the US and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for providing artillery to Yemen's Houthi rebels who had claimed responsibility for the drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that hit nearly 50 per cent of the Kingdom's global crude oil supply, despite repeated denial by Tehran. (ANI)